Fine-fuel burner



W. D. WOOD.

FINE FUEL BURNER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.15, 1917.

. Patented Dec. 7, 1920.

MHHII L Gum/W21 0 WALTER D. WOOD, 0F ALLEN TOWN, PENNSYLVANIA.

FINE-FUEL BURNER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 7, 1920.

Application filed March 15, 1917. Serial No. 154,991.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, lVAL'rnR D; WooD, a citizen of the United States, and residentof Allentown, in the county of Lehigh and State of Pennsylvania, have invented cer-' tain new and useful Improvements in Fine- Fuel Burners, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to novel and ingenious improvements for burning fine fuel such as pulverized coal, anthracite culm and the like, inthe furnaces of steam boilers, more especially locomotive boilers. The object of my present improvements is to secure a more intimate commingling of the constituents of the fuel vehicle through a more extensive admixture of air at a great variety of points with the stream of fine coal, and a more effectual and complete delivery of the fuel vehicle to the furnace over a greatly extended area so as to greatly promote combustion and obtain many other incidental and cooperative advantages. The invention,.

therefore, consists essentially in the construction, arrangement, and combination of the various" parts, substantially as will be hereinafter more particularly described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing illustrating my invention:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional View of my improved device for burning fine fuel;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same in partial section;

Fig. 3 is a\secti0nal end view of the fuel conduit containing the spiral atomizing air or steam injection device, the same being taken on the line 3, 3 of Fig. 1; I

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional plan of the pair of pivoted spreader vanes.

Similar characters of reference designate corresponding parts throughoutv the diiferent figures of the drawing. I

1 denotes the fire box or furnaceof a locomotive or other boiler, the same having any desired construction, and that represented here 'beingofif'eredmerely by way of example. The wall of the furnace 1 has an inlet opening at 2 through which the fine fuel is introduced. Secured to the furnace in any convenient manner, as for example by a series of bolts contiguous to the open ing 2 and having substantially the same cross sectional area as the lining 3 of said opening, is an outer chamber 4 which receives the end of the fuel conduit 5 that conveys a stream of commingled air and coal dust from a source of supply to the furnace opening, said conduit 5 being of any suitable length, size, and shape, and madeof any number of sections onparts, and it usually is of less diameter than the chamber 4. This condu1t 5 is open at the end 6 opposite to the furnace, and superposed on the conduit 5 1s a hopper 7 through which the pulverized fuel falls into the conduit 5, the hopper 7 being supplied from the fuel bin or other source by effective and convenient means operated in any desired manner, the details of which are not shown. The open end of the conduit 5 at 6 is to the atmosphere and the interior of. the conduit 5 as it were a mixing chamber, there being a very thorough initial mixing of air with the fine fuel performed as the fuel falls constitutes from the hopper into the conduit, and there being also a secondary effective mixing performed in the larger chamber 4 when-the fuel vehicle reaches the same, and the additional air suppl 1 is enabled to reach the fuel vehicle in the manner to be presently explained.

The statement should be premised that my present burner device operates mainly -upon the principle of induced"draft. The

main portion of the air is drawn in by the induced draft from the locomotive fire box alone, but in order to secure the more effectual commingling of the air and coal, I find it desirable to locate in the open end 6 of the pipe 5 a spiral or coiled pipe 8 provided throughout its length with a series of perforations .9, said pipe connecting with a supply pipe 10 having a valve 11, which pipe 10 leads from some source of air or steam or otherpressure upply, so that in this way a spiral atomizer is provided in the open end of the fuel pipe which sprays a great volume of finely divided air, steam, or other fluid under'pressure, and which thoroughly commingles this finelyatomized or sprayed fluid with the finely divided coal that is falling into the conduit 5 from the hopper 7 so that the latter is broken up and mixed and thoroughly combined into a very satisfactory fuel vehicle. The details of the spiral atomizer may obviously vary considerably, for it may have a greater or less number of Winds and its spiral or convoluted form may change within wide limits, but its perforated points 9 are directed toward the interior of the pipe 5 and deliver a multiplicity of fine jets of air,

steam, or other fluid into the falling mass of coal dust, but it Willbe noted that thebrought inductively by the draft from the locomotive fire box. In the larger chamber 4 of the fuel delivery conduit, in which chamber there is as it were a secondary mixing of the fuel with the .air, and in which chamber the velocity of the propulsion of the fuel is reduced in consequence of the larger area of the chamber, I provide a considerable number of holes or openings, someof which may be round and some square, or they may partake of other forms, as indicated at 12 and 13. The stream of coal dust when it reaches thisv larger chamber 4 obviously spreads apart throughout the greater capacity of the same, and an opportunity is thus offered for an admixture therewith of atmospheric air, which is being inductively drawn in through all these various openings 12 and 13 with which the casing has been provided. The function of these openings is to allow numerous .streamsof air to enter into the incoming path of the coal laden air so as to break up the fuel vehicle and more thoroughly cominingle air with it before the fuel is carried into the furnace. This is done very successfully by such a method of roviding the Wall of the chamber 4 with t ese numerous openin s. It should also be noted that these air in et openings 12 and 13 are preferably cut on an angle, say an angle of 45 degrees, so that the incoming streams of air will have a tendency to help forward toward the furnace the stream of fuel dust which is passing through the conduit 5. The propelling action of the fuel vehicle is'thus assisted and not retarded or held back as may be the case if these holes were simply cut through at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the fuel conduit, which would cause the streams of air to shoot straight across at coupled to the chamber 4, and said openings 14 bein straight and parallel to the axis of the fue conduit deliver air in such a way as also to be of-assistance' in the forward motion of the coal to the furnace.

Further the chamber 4 is provided inte- I I riorly with a pair of vertical spreader vanes 15 provided at the top with pins 16 entering. the upper portion of the wall of the chamber 4 and at the lower end with pins 17 entering the'bottom wall of the chamber-4,

the arrangement being suchthat these 'two spreader blades 15, as shown in Fig. 2, can come together in an angular manner to form a V, the apex of which is away from the furnace and toward the fuel vehicle-which moves against it and strikes it so that said fuel vehicle is divided and" deflected or toward the sides of the chamber 4. These vanes, however, are adjustable by some suitdriven in two opposite directions sidewise able mechanical device, as for example, the

rods 18 and 19, which are attached to arms 20 and 21 respectively, that are secured to the lower ends of the bottom pivot pins 17 or-made as a part thereof (see Figs. 1 and 4), said rods 18 and 19 being pivotally connected to a common rod 22, whichin turn is connected to a crank handle 23 arranged in connection with a notched quadrant 24 which is attached to the left side of a locomotive boiler in the cab or at any other convenient place, so that the fireman can readily operate the handle 23 and thus control the position of the spreader vanes 15 as occasion may require. These vanes are thus adjustable and their function is to spread the entering stream of coal laden air and spread it over a much more extended area instead of letting. the stream pass straight through. This breaks up the velocity of the movement of thefuel stream to a considerable extent, diminishes impinging action, and tends further to throw the stream of coal out to each side and cause it to more abundantly mix with the entering streams of air in the nutained, then the handle 23 can be dropped back into whatever slot it happens to be over. The number of slots in the notched quadrant 24 will vary in number as desired and will be arranged in any suitable way.

Just in the rear of the series of air inlets,

which I have just been describing in the chamber 4, I arrange a series of four or any other suitable number of steam inlets 25 consisting of short pipes supported diagonally in the wall of the .conduit 5 at a short distance :from the point where said conduit enters and is attached to the. chamber 4, said pipes 25 preferably having flaring months 26. Into each one of these mouths enters a steam jet 27, said jets 27. being carried by supply pipe 28 which is connected with another pipe 29 running from some convenient source of supply, as

for example, the boiler of the engine, said pipe 29 having a valve 30. The object of this arrangement is to admit live steam (or auxiliary air or any other fluid) and thus induce enough air throughout the entire length of the burner to draw in and blow the coal into the fire box, if for any reason in an emergent case the regular air supply through the spiral atomizer in the rear open end of the pipe. 5 should fail or be too weak or low to be effective. 7

The operation of the device will be clearly perceived from the foregoing description of the construction and arrangement of the various parts. The coal which falls into the conduit from the hopper is very violently agitated, broken up, and thoroughly mixed with the induced air which is drawn into the open end 6 of the fuel pipe, both by the inductive action of the locomotive exhaust and by the pressure from the spiral atomizer, and this action of commingling the pulverized coal with the multitude of fine streams of air which thus enter at high pressure, extends throughout thewhole length of the pipe This may be viewed asthe first operation, and the second operation which follows immediately thereafter is the delivery of this aerated coal dust to the larger chamber 4 where it is supplied with additional auxiliary air and where the spreading vanes assist in casting it about so that 'much more surface of the coal is exposed to contact with the additional incoming air and the fuel composition is formed with, greatly increased combustive It must be understood moreover that many changes may be made in the precise arrangement of the parts, and in'their shape, proportions, and relative combinations, and I do not wish to be restricted to the particular details which I have been describing, but

reserve the liberty of varying and changing all of these details in so far as this may be permitted within the scope of the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is: r

In a device of theclass' described, the combinationwith a fire box, of a fuel carrying conduit formed of sections successively enlarged from the inlet opening of the conduit to the fire box, means "contiguous to the inlet :opening of the conduit for feeding fine fuel and air intoand through the conduit, and forwardly directed angular air inlets substantially at the junction of the conduit with the fire box, to mix air with the fuel stream and assist in propelling it into the the box.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature.

WALTER D. WOOD. 

